The Touch Test

Claudia Hammond explores intriguing early evidence that a ketogenic diet - high fat, low carbs - might help treat bipolar depression.We already know this diet can help with some kinds of epilepsy. But now, after a promising pilot study, the Wellcome trust is funding a £7.9 millio ...  Show more

How does reading shape our mind and spirit? Why do novels make us feel more human? In front of a live audience at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, Claudia Hammond looks at the science of what reading does to the mind and explores the profound impact it can have on our lives ...  Show more

Just about everyone in the world right now appears to be experiencing less touch. There’s less hugging, less hand shaking. Even people who are living with others during the pandemic report very little physical engagement. Researchers know that touch can have important biochemical ...  Show more

Ever wonder why the exact same touch by one person will give you the creeps, but by another will make you yearn for more?

On this episode of The Good Life, I am excited to bring you David Linden, a Johns Hopkins Neuroscientist and New York Times best-se ...

Claudia Hammond looks at the neuroscience behind our sense of touch. Why does a gentle touch from a loved one make us feel good? This is a question that neuroscientists have been exploring since the late 1990's, following the discovery of a special class of nerve fibres in the sk ...  Show more

Humans are wired to feel good when we get the kind of touch that we want. But when we can’t get that, it’s bad for both our physical and psychological health. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans said that they weren’t getting enough intimacy and affection, and this ...